Mark Neeld told the media that the Gold Coast ‘out-muscled’ Melbourne in Sunday’s game. This is a preposterous statement.
Melbourne has been around for a long time and has had many opportunities to find bigger bodied players or ‘build-up’ some of the young draft picks.
This is starting to sound like an excuse and a deflection from what is the real issue, or one of a few, one imagines.
Dean Bailey certainly had the commitment of the players when he coached, although they did get an occasional ‘drubbing’ by Geelong etc. One would not have expected that in more recent times, with more games under their belt, the current team would perform so badly.
The relationship between an average team and getting the maximum from its players is quite interesting, and often has a lot to do with what’s going on behind the scenes.
Collingwood have been successful for many years and very strong under Mick’s 10-year reign. A new coach in Buckley had not maintained the tenacity that Mick enjoyed from his players. Is this because Mick was more revered, or because he got his message through, or he scared some of his players, or was he just a better coach?
The Western Bulldogs appear to be well-coached by McCarthy but suffer from a lack of key position players. However, they give it a ‘red hot’ go each week and are competitive for most of the game. Likewise, Michael Voss in Brisbane. Although they have not won many games and have been performing poorly, they served it right up to West Coast last weekend.
McCarthy and Voss seem to be safe at present in terms of being replaced before the season is out.
I’m not so confident about Neeld, who has promised a great deal however has presided over some very lame results. There is no doubt that Melbourne has players with talent who should be performing at a higher level than they are currently. So what’s missing?
If the commentators are saying that Melbourne looked ‘insipid’ on the weekend with several players not actually laying a single tackle, then something is seriously happening.
The reason as to why players don’t chase the opposition is either they feel that there is no hope or they are unmotivated. So which is it for Melbourne?
Unfortunately, as there is a precedent, Neeld will be under pressure and may not see out the year.
No club will tolerate the poor performances, and failure to improve each year, especially since they received so many high draft picks.
Article link: Melbourne Demons just not playing for Neeld. Written by Jakus, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion
